Financial Quick Picks - MTG Hit List, Dragons of Tarkir Sleepers [Daniel Pagan Murphy]
Hi, my name is Daniel, and I returned to Magic in RTR block. At the time, my job situation wasn’t very stable and I didn’t have much money. Never being able to buy the hot card of the moment, I had to plan ahead. This forced me to develop a keen eye for sleeper cards. I saw Burning Earth and Chandra’s Phoenix in M14. Before Theros came out, I stocked up on Pack Rat, Desecration Demon, and Nightveil Specter; boy did that pay off! I did the same with Courser of Kruphix and Eidolon of the Great Revel. M15 saw me pick up 15 copies of Goblin Rabblemaster, although I never thought it would do THAT well! I picked up Whisperwood Elementals from Fate Reforged at the prerelease for around $5-$7 and that has worked out very well too. Now that Dragons of Tarkir is hitting the market, I'm once again trying to stay ahead of the curve by finding undervalued cards. It doesn’t always work, but when it does it’s incredibly satisfying.
Note that I am only listing cards that I think are undervalued and could rise a lot. Without further ado...
Green
Shaman of Forgotten Ways - This is one of my bets for sleeper hits from the set. I have been playing Green Devotion for the past two standard seasons, and am very sad to think of Courser of Kruphix rotating. However, this guy fits very well into the same slot. He has similar stats and can block early drops almost as well. In addition, ramping to 6 mana on turn 4 is a big deal and allows you to slam dragons down early, making this a must kill. I would pick up a playset.
Surrak, the Hunt Caller - Speaking of Green devotion, here is the natural substitute to Polukranos, World Eater. As another 5 power 4-drop, the stats are already good, but the ability really puts this over the top. It’s not too hard to give him haste the turn he comes down, and, even if you don’t, he virtually guarantees that every other creature you play will have haste. This card is awesome and could be one of the hits of the set.
Honorable mentions: Avatar Of the Resolute, Assault Formation
Black
Sidisi, Undead Vizier - My pick for one of the best cards in the set. Either half of the card is good, but when you have something cheap to sacrifice, this is insane. It blocks everything without flying and searches for your best card. Not much left to say.
Corpseweft - I like this as a speculation. It seems to fill a similar niche as Mastery of the Unseen and could similarly explode. It is cheap right now so why not? It could do well if the right deck/situation shows up.
Honorable mention: Foul Renewal.
Red
Zurgo Bellstriker - For my money, one of the best red one drops ever printed. The drawback might not make it a 4-of, but it will almost certainly be a 3-of going forward. Get your playset and if you are into speculating, this will certainly go up after rotation.
Ire Shaman - This guy is really good. Red decks don’t mind casting this on turn two and late in the game it is pure value, getting card advantage and a tough-to-block attacker is no joke. It's a sleeper card for now that I think could do well.
Honorable Mention: Crater Elemental, Dragon Tempest.
Blue
Icefall Regent - A clear and easy pickup at its current price. It’s very similar to a decent Standard card of recent days, Frost Titan. Plus it costs one less and has evasion; should see play in Standard.
Living Lore - This card is so weird and unique that it might be broken at some point in some format. At the very least is has potential in EDH, so as a speculative pickup I don’t see much harm now that it’s cheap.
Honorable mention: Stratus Dancer.
White
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - This card has the potential to be really good in a white weenie or white devotion shell. It also interacts well with Persist and other mechanics in eternal formats and EDH. I would sit on some copies as they should increase in the long run.
Profound Journey - This might seem like a weird one, but the fact that it returns permanents is not negligible. EDH players love this, but it could also potentially see some Standard play and is currently close to bulk prices. Keep an eye on it.
Honorable mention: Sunscorch Regent.
Multicolor & Colorless
Boltwing Marauder - It's shocking to me that this is currently way under a dollar. It is a 5 power flyer for 5 with a really good ability that works well with tokens. All it needs is a deck. There will always be casual and EDH decks that want this and besides, how much lower than $0.50 can it go even if it doesn’t pay off?
Harbinger of the Hunt - Same as above; really seems good in a token meta. The only thing that might hold it back is the 3 toughnessa. But really you aren't losing much if these cards don’t pan out, so why not be safe and get a playset?
Haven of the Spirit Dragon - One of the best tribal utility lands we have seen in years, and it's for the most popular tribe amongst players! It's currently under 3 dollars, which is low enough that picking up a playset or two to speculate on might be a good idea.
Kolaghan’s Command - I think this card is currently undervalued and could become very good. Also, if any good artifacts are printed, and they might be due, the value of this just skyrockets.
Silumgar’s Command - I think this card is also criminally undervalued. And at under 2 bucks, I would pick up a playset as soon as possible. It's almost certain to see some amount of play. How much it sees play will depend on the meta.
Well there you have it, my Dragons of Tarkir quick picks for sleeper cards. Hope you enjoyed the article. Feel free to let me know what you think about my evaluations.
Thanks for reading,
Daniel
Add Galactic Treasures on Social Media
Follow Galactic Treasures on Twitter
Like Galactic Treasures on Facebook